


I'd Give it All for You

by faded_dragon_flys



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe, Gen, Good Friend Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Not Beta Read, Peter Parker is a Mess, Peter is Thor and Loki's (adopted!) brother, Peter is a Little Shit, Peter's an alien, i don't make the rules, lots of magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24616252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faded_dragon_flys/pseuds/faded_dragon_flys
Summary: Peter never wanted this. He thought he could hide on Midgard, peacefully, without Thor and Loki and Odin trying to find him. He thought he had finally escaped their reaches, found a place that they wouldn’t think to search.Well, he was wrong.
Relationships: Loki & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Thor, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 79
Kudos: 428





	1. God knows it's easy to run

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooo readersssss, here is another ficccc. This time, Petey-boi is from ASGARD. Enjoy :)  
> (The title of the work + the chapter titles are from the song of the same name.)

Peter never wanted this. He thought he could hide on Midgard, peacefully, without Thor and Loki and Odin trying to find him. He thought he had finally escaped their reaches, found a place that they wouldn't think to search.

Well, he was wrong.

So very, very wrong.

In the Midgardian year of 2012, when he was 14 in Midgardian years, his stupid ass of an older brother decided that invading Midgard was a good idea. Consequently, his eldest brother came after him, both now on the very planet that Peter thought was safe to hide in.

Those stupid oafs.

Peter had no choice but to adjust his appearance; his unique, stormy grey eyes now a doe brown. His hair, originally a very dark colour, was now a far lighter shade (and much fluffier). Being the paranoid alien he was, he also aged his appearance down three years to further avoid detection. And so, he waited. He landed himself in an orphanage, quietly watching the events from the shadows. He witnessed Loki's defeat (which came as a shock) and thought that would be it, that they would never come back here. 

Wrong, once again. Thor continued coming back to fight and ‘hang out’ with the 'Avengers', aggravating Peter to no end. He always did get too attached to new things, say, a new planet.

And yet, Peter didn't leave.

He wasn't quite sure why he didn't simply up and go, finding yet another planet to stay in. Maybe it was the overwhelming similarities between this place and his home, albeit more corrupted and tainted. Maybe it was the curious behaviours of the people of this place, which Peter had tried to figure out, spending hours deep in thought. Or maybe it was his sixth sense, telling him to stay.

Whatever it was, he remained, quietly watching the events unfold over the years and doing nothing about them. He only felt the slightest bit guilty about it. He knew that if he helped, he was certain to be found out and he couldn't afford for that to happen. It was vital that he remain hidden, for the rest of his life if he had to, until the situation blew over. That was ok. He would give it all to protect his Asgardian family.

If he was careful, they would never suspect his whereabouts. If he was careful, he could protect everyone he loved and still live a half-decent life. If he was careful, he would never be found. His brother and mother had taught him the mystic art of seiðr (magic) far too well for that.

* * *

It was a relief when he could allow himself to age naturally again. It had been perfect torture, trapping himself in a younger form, having to pretend to be unintelligent and dim. It was extremely frustrating when he tried to tell his caretakers things and they ignored him, all because he appeared young. Nevertheless, he felt a fondness for them; they were kind and fair to him and all the other children, not taking shit from anyone.

In the Midgardian year of 2016, however, he was moved to a different group home, for reasons not yet known. This place was nowhere near as homely or safe as his previous dwelling. His new guardians were abusive, loud and horrible. They continuously took out their anger and frustration on the children, usually forgetting to feed them and, in general, neglecting everyone and everything besides themselves.

Peter couldn't stand for it. It would be too risky to outright confront them; it was very possible that he could lose control. So he did the next mildly possible thing his ridiculously empathic brain came up with: he took all the hits. He befriended the other two older kids in his orphanage, a boy named Ned and a girl called Michelle. Together, they devised a system. Adamant that the others did not suffer, Peter told both of them to herd the younger kids to their rooms and shield them when Peter had to receive their punishment.

Ned and Michelle obviously tried to counter this, arguing that they too could take hits. However, Peter, being the stubborn ass he was, refused so much that they gave up altogether, reluctantly carrying out the plan when needed. 

Peter didn't mind taking the hits. After all, _he_ was decidedly _not_ Midgardian and had an amazing healing factor. If the other two noticed the mysterious disappearance of injuries the next day, they immediately forgot about it when Peter carefully manipulated their minds. He felt guilty whenever he did this, reminding himself of Loki, so he never went further than necessary.

This system worked well enough, but their situation opened up Peter's world. What he would once perceive as Midgardian normality now was a gross injustice to the victim; what he once used to ignore, he now saw and resented. He tried to restrain himself, of course he did. The effort was ultimately futile, however. Unable to bear even just watching the news, because of all the crimes reported all the time, Peter decided that enough was enough. He fashioned an indiscreet black suit, close to the style of the Midgardian heroes, and started stopping crime when he could, always concealed while doing so. 

In short, he became a vigilante. He never used any seiðr, however; that would be a dead giveaway. No, instead, he utilised his own species's unique powers, those of what Midgardians called 'spiders'. (Did he mention he was adopted yet? No? Well, Odin seemed to have a penchant for adopting alien orphans.) People started taking notice of the vigilante; witnesses swore that he was almost exactly like a spider, remembering the dark figure, hanging upside down from a web.

Of course, being the imaginative race they were, the people called this new hero ‘Spider-Man’. How ironic. They didn't even know that their 'spiders' were, in fact, his species's cousins, aliens who had crossed over many millennia ago. It was quite interesting, reading the Midgardian histories and spotting the many discrepancies which resided there.

One aspect of Peter’s existence that he was extremely grateful for, was the fact that his Asgardian family never figured out which planet he belonged to- he had kept the information to himself, not trusting any of his old enemies to not come looking for him. His family had merely thought that he was a normal Asgardian orphan. An interesting theory, if he may say so himself.

* * *

Peter was foolish. He had thought that if he had kept his 'activities' to a minimum, none of the important figures (*cough* the Avengers *cough* SHIELD *cough*) would take any notice. He was wrong, once again. He had thought that mutants were fairly common in this world- apparently not. So, that's how he came here, struggling to keep his seiðr under control while the Iron Man, Tony Stark, sat on the couch in the scrupulously clean group home’s living room.

"Oh, here he is, Mr Stark."  
Peter looked suspiciously between his guardian and the genius.  
"Hello Mr Parker, I was just saying how excellent your internship application was and how I'm considering giving you a place."  
Peter raised an eyebrow. What was he playing at?  
"Can we have a little chat?" Stark's face was telling him to play along. And so he did. Plastering a fake smile onto his face, he nodded.

"Sure thing, Mr Stark."  
Ms Murbdieg glared at him a little before nodding and saying,  
"Do take him to your room, Peter dear."  
Yeah. 'Peter dear'. He was so _loved._  
Peter led Stark to his room, closing the door behind him. If worse came to worse, he didn't want anyone seeing him using seiðr on the billionaire.  
"So, Mr Parker, you obviously know that I was bluffing, so let's get straight to the point."  
Peter remained neutral, his blank face showing absolutely nothing.

"So you're a quiet one, are you?"  
"Not particularly, Mr Stark. It's just that I don't usually have a world-famous figure in my room."  
"True."  
"What do you want from me?"  
Stark raised an eyebrow; Peter couldn't tell whether he was offended or impressed. Stark sighed, tapping his watch briskly. A hologram sprung up with a... YouTube video playing?"

"You know, I was going to gradually build up to the question, but since you seem so eager to get this over and done with, I might as well get straight to the point.  
He pointed to the shadow, black-clad figure who had just swung into the frame.  
"Is this you?"  
Peter's eyes flashed their natural stormy grey, just for a millisecond, in shock. He should have seen this coming, to be honest. He thought that Stark was here because he had found out about Peter hacking into Stark Industries (hey, he was a bored genius himself- what else should he do?).

What happened was so much worse.

"Of course not, Mr Stark."  
He raised an eyebrow.  
"Really? My stats seem to say that you are."  
Peter raised an eyebrow back, confident that he would not be outed.  
"FRIDAY, scan the room for the presence of a relatively high-tech suit and weird wrist contraptions."  
_Poor fool, so sure of himself._ ; Peter didn't have a physical, ever-present suit. He merely fashioned one with seiðr every time he went out to patrol. His webs were organic, a charming trait of his species.  
Stark's face contorted into one of confusion as FRIDAY came back negative.  
"You hid them, didn't you?"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
Well, that was the truth.

__

"I really didn't want to do this but..."  
Stark turned away, only for a whole swarm of nanobots to fly straight at Peter like a hail of bullets. They seemed to have come from Stark's watch. Peter reflexively dodged and shot a load of organic webbing at the bots, sticking them to his wall. He stared at the trapped bots in utter disbelief.

__

"Did you just pull a Batman on me? 'Cause Justice League was kind of subpar, no offense."  
Stark shrugged.  
"Well, yeah, I guess I did. At least I didn't throw a disk. That would've been so cliche."  
"You’re literally a real-life embodiment of Bruce Wayne, dude." "There are numerous differences, one being that I'm richer." "But that's not the point. If I was a normal person, I could've died. Did you think of that?"  
Stark rolled his eyes.  
"My tech never lies. I knew it was you."  
"Great," Peter muttered. He could always use seiðr to get out of this mess, but how would it stop Iron Man (or anyone else, for that matter) from discovering him again? He couldn't give up Spider-Man now, not after it became his own personal drug. Addictive and essential.

__

Peter studied Stark's face carefully- he saw all the ideas, half-made, in the genius' mind. He saw all the man's aspirations and problems and he saw that his assholery was merely an essential facade which concealed the enormous weight of the world he had brought upon himself. 

__

Come to think of it, it was very reflective of Peter's own self-sacrificial tendencies.  
"Hey kid, why are your eyes-?"  
Peter absentmindedly removed that memory from Stark's head before disguising them again and fixing a glare on his face.  
"Do I have a choice?"  
Stark knew that Peter was smart, that he had figured it out.  
"No, not really."  
Peter sighed and shook his head resignedly, once again asking.  
"So, what exactly do you want from me?"

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that <3


	2. Easy to run from the people you love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea whether I use the word seiðr correctly. I’m just using it necause it sounds better than magic. I changed some of the airport fight scenes to fit this story. I also changed the dialogue because I don’t remember it.

Stark was an… interesting person, to say the least. He had been very vague about what exactly he wanted Peter to do, only saying something about Captain America going rogue. Which seemed quite unbelievable, if you asked Peter.

Not that anyone did.

Before long, Stark had whisked him off to Germany. Peter frantically packed at the last minute, quickly creating a permanent copy of his suit, as well as quickly fashioning a pair of mechanical web-shooters; he didn’t need to arouse more suspicion. To be very honest, he didn’t even know why he was doing this. Surely the logical and reasonable solution would be to run away completely. He would have, if it weren’t for his sixth sense gently humming at him to stay.

So he stayed. Why he had agreed to _this_ particular gig was also a mystery. It would be very easy for him to turn his back on this jaunt and hide, without his sixth sense kicking up a fuss. Maybe it was the stupid Asgardian influence on him, courtesy of Thor. Loki, always the most practical, most cynical child, would have simply turned his back and magicked himself away to another planet; if not, another dimension. (He was two Midgardian years older than Peter).

Thinking about his brothers was too painful; Peter closed his mind to that particular area of thought, turning his face toward the plane window. He was staring out of the window, mind blank, when Stark entered the cabin and sat across from him.  
“What? Not impressed with this beauty?”  
Peter gave him a dead stare.  
“It’s… a plane. Yeah, It’s got stuff, but it’s still just a plane.”  
_And besides, there are better aircraft on Asgard._

Stark sighed.  
“You’re very closed off, aren’t you?”  
Peter shrugged.  
“Am I?”  
Peter knew he was being difficult on purpose, but he couldn’t help it. Reminiscing had put him in a foul mood.  
“Ok, I know you’re in a bad mood, but I kinda need to give you instructions on what to do once we get to Berlin, so can you listen for a bit?”  
Peter nodded.  
“Good, so…”

* * *

It was pretty straightforward. Stark wanted Peter to trap Cap’s team, but not to engage directly if he could help it. He didn’t want Peter to get hurt, apparently. The advice was practically useless. On Asgard, he had already fought in numerous battles alongside his brothers, without too much of a hassle. Often it was against enemies much more difficult to deal with than the majority of these Midgardian warriors. He _did_ have to watch out for that Scarlet Witch girl, however. She could be a major threat.

When they finally touched down and got settled into their respective hotel rooms, it was night. Happy told Peter that they would try to intercept the rogues tomorrow, as that was when FRIDAY anticipated that they would try to go. Peter merely agreed and went to his room, making sure to lock the door firmly. Once sure that he wouldn’t be disturbed, the dark blue colour of his seiðr filled the room, manufacturing a kind of ‘invisibility covering’ for him.

The Harry Potter series was practically a treasure trove for new ideas.

Peter snuck out, still cloaked in the invisibility covering, He roamed the city, wide awake since he rarely needed to sleep. _Berlin is an... interesting place,_ he mused as he swung among the buildings. He stayed out until approximately an hour till dawn then returned back to the hotel. Rearranging everything to make sure it seemed that he had been sleeping all night, Peter caught an hour of sleep to replenish his energy.

Happy woke him up at approximately six o’clock. Peter took out his physical suit and web-shooters, looking at them with distaste. Making up his mind, he hid them in an alcove that was conveniently placed in a dark spot, then fashioned his original seiðr-made suit onto him. Looking at himself in the mirror, he made a subtle adjustment- the suit now seemed to have a more homemade quality, with metal ‘bracelets’ circling his wrists. 

Now it looked more believable.

When they boarded the plane, Stark looked at his suit critically.  
“That’ll have to do, for now, I guess. When we get back, you’re getting an upgrade.”  
“Oh, that’s not needed, Mr Stark. I’ll just tweak it when I get home.”  
He raised an eyebrow.  
“You can do that?”  
“Sure.” Peter inwardly laughed.

The small plane they were on eventually joined up with another, similar plane, except for the fact that the newcomer had a bird logo on it. When they landed near the airport, the rest of Stark’s team filed out- James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, Natasha Romanoff, Vision and King T’Challa. They exchanged brief greetings, Peter keeping his mask on, before the five headed out onto the runway. Peter stayed hidden on the sidelines, ready to swing in when instructed.

Peter was watching Stark’s team walking towards an unfamiliar hovering aircraft when the rogues came running around a corner. The two groups slowed and looked at each other, uneasiness and tension crackling between them. Peter waited from behind a few airport containers, eyes narrowed and calculating.

“Stark.”  
“Rogers.”  
“Move aside, Tony.”  
“No can do, Cap. If I let you go, I’ll be as much of a criminal as you will be if you go.”  
“You don’t understand.”  
“Then make me understand, goddammit! Do you think I want to do this?”  
“Tony, just let us go then we’ll answer questions later. This is important.”  
“What’s so important that you have to disobey the entire UN?”  
Silence.  
“You know what, I’m getting impatient. Underoos!”  
Oh well, time to go.

Peter swung up from behind Cap’s team. He flipped over the Captain himself, shooting a web at the famous shield and taking it from his hands. It was a pretty great feeling, to be honest. He landed on top of a jet bridge. He stood up straight, holding the shield comfortably on his right arm. 

“Hey, Mr Stark. Hey everyone.”  
Rogers looked distinctly ruffled, but also somewhat impressed.  
“Impressive, kid. Is that super strength?”  
“Well… yeah.” Um, wasn’t it obvious enough? Something about Roger’s eyes was not quite right, however. Peter’s eyes widened as he spotted the Captain make an almost indiscernible signal with his hand.

Peter’s sixth sense pinged at him and he quickly dodged and flipped, catching an arrow which had come speeding towards him from the top of the airport building.  
“Seriously, Hawkeye? What’s the point?”  
Barton’s face appeared from the top of the building, shocked and dumbfounded.  
“How did you catch that?”  
“What do you think?” Peter called back, seeing Stark signal out of the corner of his eye to the rest of the team to start advancing since it was clear that Cap’s team wasn’t going to surrender.

“Oh goody, I always love a good fight,” Peter muttered before backflipping and landing between Natasha and Rhodey. He still had the shield, thankfully. The two groups seemed to read each other’s minds and started advancing towards each other.  
_This is so inefficient,,_ Peter grumbled internally. 

“So, we’re going for it?” He asked.  
“We’re going for it,” Natasha replied, eyes set with a hard look. Peter respected this woman. Even he, with his enhancements, wouldn’t _dare_ cross _her._  
“Give me the Captain. I wanna fight him with his shield.”  
“Kid, we talked about thi-”  
That’s when the first scarlet bolt flew straight at them.

_Thank you,_ Peter thought as he swung away from Stark and his rules. He grinned as he landed in front of Rogers.  
“You know, I really like this shield. It’s very strong.”  
“Kid, please give it back.”  
“Nuh-uh, Mr Stark told me not to, sorry.”  
And so they started engaging in hand to hand combat. In all honesty, Peter appreciated this fight, having the chance to actually hone his skills again with people who could actually keep up. 

Peter recalled all his training with his brothers, which had begun at Midgardian age 5. He imitated Thor’s proficiency with his hammer to throw things at the Captain in hopes of incapacitating him. He also emulated Loki’s overall fighting style, which was quicker and more agile. Sif had also sparred with him on occasion, which had been a treat. He had loved sparring with the other warriors and now, their advice suddenly all came rushing back. He concentrated, channelling this unexpected influx of memories of his loved ones.

He noticed that as he fought, Rogers’ face acquired a slightly puzzled, slightly questioning look. As they parted to get some air, Rogers took this opportunity to question him.  
“Your fighting technique is… familiar, but very strange. Where did you learn it?”  
“Chance?”  
“No, you definitely remind me of someone… or some people... I don’t know. Wait…”  
_Oh shit._ Peter narrowed his eyes and his heart rate quickened. He reached out with his seiðr to quickly remove and modify Rogers’ memories. He was so quick to react that he had completely forgotten about the presence of another telepath.

Wanda Maximoff had felt a faint disturbance in her mind and had turned around, following the source of the disturbance to Peter. Immediately, she flew over and landed behind him, already gathering her power. Peter whirled around, saw her and remembered. _I’m screwed._ He dodged all her blasts, trying to suppress his instincts. And then she tried something completely different. She actually _dared_ to try to get inside _his mind_. In his fury, Peter blasted her out, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to be able to.

Wanda stumbled back and stared at him in shock.  
“Who are you?” She whispered.  
Peter glared back, his sixth sense buzzing warningly. He was crouching in a defensive posture, very spider-like and alert, coiled like a wound spring. Wanda also faced him, eyes glowing red as she undoubtedly communicated with her teammates in her head. Peter knew this was unimaginably risky, but he reached into her mind anyway, knowing that she had her guard down while talking to others.

He burrowed in, twisting through until he found the memory she should not have. He grasped it and retreated back into his mind, destroying it on the way. If Wanda had felt that, it was too late; she had no memory of the incident and had not been able to draw her focus back to protect herself.

_If we resolve this peacefully, I’m going to have a word with her about how to use her mind,_ Peter grumbled as he swung away to face another foe. She was a complete novice with internal combat.

The fight lasted quite a while. Peter was careful not to trigger Wanda’s mind again. He stayed in the background now, merely webbing up whoever he could. He had completely forgotten that there had been another witness when he faced off with the Maximoff girl. 

When Peter found Stark again, he was in another section of the airport, fighting both supersoldiers. They were all brutal with each other. Rogers and Barnes passed the shield between them as they took turns throwing blows at the billionaire, while Stark seemingly had no qualms in blasting any of them.

Peter looked outside; none of the other Avengers noticed this potentially fatal struggle, all focused on their own other fights. Peter glanced back at the trio helplessly, filled with some kind of rage. These _idiots_ were fighting amongst themselves when there were _far more terrible enemies_ out there. Asgardians would never come down to this. 

Without any thought of the consequences, Peter sprung at the trio; he shot webs at the repulsors and stuck Stark’s suit’s hands to the ground. He caught Barnes’s metal arm, admiring it for a split second before webbing him to the wall. He finally turned to Rogers, who was looking at him warily.  
“What did you do to Wan-”  
He didn’t get to finish. Peter immediately webbed his mouth shut and stuck him next to Barnes.

Satisfied with his work, Peter stepped back and looked at all three of them appraisingly.  
“Does anyone want to inform me on why the _hell_ you're trying to _kill_ each other?”  
“Let me g-” Stark tried to interject, glaring at all of them furiously.  
“Nuh-uh, let me finish. Don’t you have bigger enemies to fight? Worse enemies than yourselves?”  
Rogers sighed, regret in his eyes. He ripped the webbing off his mouth, one hand free of his restraints.  
“You don’t understand.”  
“Maybe I don’t, but this is stupid.”

Barnes looked up, face haunted.  
“I killed his parents.”  
“What?” Peter said.  
Barnes looked so dejected as he glanced over to Stark.  
“Oh. Right,” Peter immediately understood. Also because Barnes was practically broadcasting the thought all around, his mind not even needing too much probing to read.

“Mr Stark, you do realise it wasn’t his fault right?”  
_“He killed my parents.”_ “And Barton killed all those SHIELD agents back when my- back when Loki invaded Earth!”  
“This is different!”  
“How so? Both had no choice. They were both forced to kill. You forgave Barton without any qualms. Why should Barnes be any different?”

When his face mask retracted, Stark’s rage-filled eyes were now replaced with a totally blank look. He looked at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. When he finally did look at Peter, his expression was confused.  
“How the hell did you know all that?”  
Rogers was already looking at him strangely, struggling to put pieces together in his mind. Peter only dared to hope that he had taken out the sparring memory properly.  
“Can you get us out of this stuff please?” Barnes asked quietly, staring at the floor. Peter nodded and sprayed some dissolving agent on to them. (Hey, a spider’s gotta have his back-up plans).

Peter glared at Stark and Rogers, the suit’s eyes contracting as he spoke.  
“You two had better work all of this out and stop everyone out there from fighting. There’s no point whatsoever in useless squabbles. Go to the UN, bring lawyers if you have to and _change the Accords._ They’ll never trust you if you don’t sign, but at least you can change them to benefit everyone. Have you ever heard of the concept of a compromise?”  
The two looked at each other, expressions slightly shameful. They nodded, shaking hands before going out to cease the fighting.

As they walked away, Peter carefully crept into their minds and removed the memories which could have endangered him, careful to shield himself from Wanda as he did so.

Peter looked at Barnes, who’s haunted eyes spoke of unimaginable suffering. He felt a pang of sympathy for this soldier; Peter had seen similar cases on Asgard, warriors who had come back from particularly gruesome battles and were mentally scarred for life. They were truly tragic cases, forever changed and not half the warriors they were before. 

Peter walked over. This was risky, but shouldn’t he try to help everyone?

“I can take it all away. HYDRA’s influence, everything. But you can’t tell.”  
Barnes looked down at him, an impossible hope suddenly shining through his eyes.  
“You can do that?”  
“I can, but you mustn't tell anyone at all.”  
“Please do it… I can’t keep being a danger to everyone.”  
“Okay, but I’ll repeat; you _cannot_ tell. If you do, I’ll have to mess with your head again. The result won’t be pretty _and_ all the bad stuff’ll come back.”  
“I won’t. I’d cut off my other arm before I’d talk.”  
“Ok then, I’ll take your word for it. Get ready.”

This time, Peter was extremely prepared. He erected a barrier around both their minds, blocking all transmissions from getting to Wanda. The shield around them glowed dark blue as his seiðr got to work. He closed his eyes, his hands moving in front of him. Barnes watched as they twisted into strange shapes, seemingly following a formula. Barnes closed his eyes as he felt a new presence in his brain. It wasn’t menacing and cold like HYDRA’s machines; this one was warm and comforting. 

As Peter moved around in there, he saw things he’d rather not see, horrible things they had done to them. Peter grasped the programming, feeling immensely satisfied when he crushed them and destroyed them. He looked through the memories, keeping them there but removing all traumatic effects from them; memories were important things, and should be kept no matter what. Memories were to be learned from, not to be ignored. 

Working methodically, he also came across many hidden memories, some of old friends from the 40s, some of his childhood and some of the war. He pulled them up to the surface of Barnes’s mind, leaving them there for the man to peruse. When he was done, he retreated back into his own head, shaking it to clear it.  
“Better?”  
Barnes looked around. His whole demeanour was completely different.  
“Thank you so much… I d-don’t know how to thank you.”  
Peter smiled softly through his mask.  
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad to have been able to help you. Make sure your recovery isn’t too suspicious though. I don’t want to be traced back to.”  
“Don’t worry, I have quite a lot of expertise in that area.”

Outside, the fighting had ceased and voices, calm and decisive, were floating through the window, the words too far away to hear. Peter grinned at Barnes, whose eyes were now calm and had an unusual peace in them.

“Let’s go see what’s happening, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed Civil War y'all. Hope you enjoyed that!  
> Thor and Loki will make their appearance in the next chapter (I think).


	3. And harder to stand and fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter is 16 (Midgardian years) here. I had to switch up his age to fit the story. I placed Civil War a year earlier, so it’s 2015 now. AOU and CACW take place in the same year.

Long story short, the Avengers made up and the Accords were heavily revised. Stark and Rogers reconciled and everyone was happy again. A basic fairytale ending. Peter would’ve thought that this was the moment in their story where he signed a bunch of NDAs and went on his merry way, but apparently, that wasn’t what Stark had in mind.

“Hey kid,” he had said. “What do you say to being my intern?”  
Peter had looked at him in shock.  
“Because I’m Spider-Man?” he had asked skeptically.  
“Heavens, no,” Stark rolled his eyes, “No intern of mine would get in because of _anything_ apart from their intelligence.” He looked up thoughtfully for a second, “And personality,” he added. He met Peter’s eyes once more.  
“I think you’ll do very well as my intern.”

Peter hesitated, unsure. He would absolutely love this opportunity, but it brought him closer to his brothers. Finally, he decided.  
“I think I may just take you up on that offer, Mr Stark.”  
He gave a small smile. This would make life on Earth a lot brighter. Besides, he could always escape if anything went wrong.  
“Good, I’ll email you all the information later.”  
Peter looked out of his window and smiled.  
Yes, he was going to enjoy this.

* * *

When Peter returned to the group home, he found Ned and MJ in his and Ned’s room. They were sitting on Ned’s bed with identical looks of disapproval.  
“Where the _hell_ have you been, Parker?” snapped MJ, (They had finally progressed to MJ. Peter saw that as an absolute win.)  
“D-didn’t I tell you guys?” Peter gave them a look of complete confusion.  
“No dude, you didn’t. You just up and left. Murbdieg just told us that you went on an internship trip with some hotshot company.” Ned told him, jaw clenching slightly.

“Well, I guess part of that is true…” Peter sighed and fell face down on his bed.  
“Explanation. Now.” MJ looked absolutely furious. Peter could literally _feel_ the waves of anger rolling off her, but mixed in there was also a sense of receding worry and enormous relief.  
“So, basically, Tony Stark came in one day while you two were at decathlon practice. He told me that he had chosen me to, uh, intern at Stark Industries.” Oh, Odin, he was so bad at lying. And his brother was _the_ god of mischief. 

“I call complete and utter bullshit,” MJ rolled her eyes.  
Damn, that girl knew him too well.  
“Peter, what’s really going on?” Ned still looked worried. Peter turned his head to the side and took in his friends’ appearances properly for the first time. Both had dark bruises peeking from under their sleeves, and Peter could see cuts, no doubt from a wine bottle, on their limbs. In a flash, he was up and had rushed over to them with almost inhuman speed. He was lucky he managed to just keep himself in check.

“Did they do this to you?” Peter practically growled, hands shaking as he struggled to keep himself from doing something he might regret.  
“I _told_ them to lay off you until I got back!”  
“Peter, calm down…” Ned looked scared as he saw Peter’s visible rage.  
“Parker, wha-?”  
_Shit_ , he did it again. Peter retreated into a corner, closing his eyes as they flickered different colours, his hair also rippling unnaturally. _Calm down, calm down._ He tried to recall what Loki had taught him. Slowly, gradually, the turmoil subsided. Peter raised his head to see Ned and MJ fearfully hovering a distance away.

Peter staggered as he stood up.  
“I’m sorry, guys, but I’ll have to remove that no-”  
“Don’t you dare.” MJ was pale, but she stood her ground.  
“I have to.” Peter stepped forward, seiðr already swirling around his hands.  
“It won’t work, Peter,” Ned said quietly. “It never did.”

The seiðr was immediately extinguished as Peter stumbled back in shock.  
“What do you mean? It can’t _not_ work!”  
“Well, it doesn’t work on us.”  
“You’re Midg- humans, though!”  
“That’s true. It doesn’t change the fact that it _does not work_ , however.”  
“So you’ve known all this time.”  
“That you’re not normal? Yes. That you’ve tried to mess with our heads before? Of course.”

Peter had to sit down. He looked at his friends.  
“What are you?”  
They both smirked slightly at this question.  
“Shouldn’t we be asking you that?”  
“Yes, but you _shouldn't have remembered_!”  
Ned sat down next to Peter.  
“I have a theory,” he said.  
Peter looked at him inquiringly.  
“You didn’t truly want to mess with us, did you?”

Peter hesitated, thinking about it. Would he really have wanted to change his friends’ memories, no matter how vital it was to do so? Would he really pass up the opportunity to have someone who knew about him? So that the burden would be lightened?  
No, no really. Peter shook his head mutely.  
“That’s it, then,” Ned smiled slightly. “We remember because you didn’t really want us to forget.”

MJ also sat down.  
“Now that you know we know, spill. We still don’t know where you’ve been.”  
Peter hesitated before finally speaking about himself, truthfully, for the first time in a _long_ time. He looked down at his clasped hands, sighing.

“Berlin. Tony Stark really did speak to me, except for a different reason. I’m... Spider-Man, the one that’s always on the news. Mr Stark wanted me to help him fight some rogue Avengers in Berlin. That’s literally it.”  
He braced himself for an onslaught of questions, only to look up and see none. His friends’ faces showed no surprise.  
“We kinda guessed you were Spider-Man,” MJ said.  
“Did you seriously think that I wouldn’t notice you sneaking out at night?” Ned asked.  
Peter shook his head slightly.  
“I underestimate you Midgardians.”  
“Yeah, now explain that and the whole magic thing. As far as I’m aware, Spider-Man doesn’t have _or_ use magic.”

Peter grinned at them slightly.  
“You’re not letting me go until I answer absolutely everything.”  
It wasn’t a question.  
“Damn right. Continue talking.”

* * *

It was admittedly exhausting, all this intense interrogation. True to her word, MJ had continuously grilled Peter about nearly everything that had happened to him. Keyword, _nearly_ everything. He had refused to budge on why he was hiding from his family in the first place. 

**_Flashback_ **

_Peter hid on his planet, the last one still left there. The others were all either dead or gone. It didn’t matter anyway. As soon as he tried teleporting, the insanely loud telepathic echoes would alert the Kree to his spot. That's what they had done to his kin, intercepting them mid teleportation, then killing them, savagely. Peter had seen it all, at the ripe age of four. It was horrifying. The ravaged bodies of his kin falling from the sky would forever be burned in his memory. Maybe a few had survived, he didn’t know, but it was enough to make him stay on the ground, hiding under the old webs of his demolished nest._

__

_His people were once beautiful, eerie and strange. All had incredibly pale skin, pale like the webs they spun and swung around on. They all had dark hair, much like the venom they harvested from various plants they cultivated.. However, their most distinguishing feature was their eyes. All shades and colours could be found in the eyes of the Araneae, ranging from smooth violet to fiery orange. Their eyes really were the gateways to their souls, showing all their emotions, always changing shades and swirling with thought. They had the perfect existence on their small planet, living in families in nests, nests in villages, villages in prefectures, and all connected by an intricate network of webs. There were plentiful food and prey everywhere, schools and libraries and_ everything. 

_It all changed when the Kree came. They had always hated the Araneae for some unknown reason. Peter’s people never thought they’d actually act on it and so when they actually did come, they were not prepared. They were slaughtered in their thousands, burning and destroying whole villages. Peter only just managed to escape, due to his small size. When he was finally found and surrounded, they didn’t think he’d be able to teleport. How wrong they were. He curled up in a tiny ball then sprang up, making sure they couldn’t reach him._

__

He twisted midair, thinking of the first place he could think of. 

__

_Asgard._ >End of flashback 

Peter woke with a start, staring at the ceiling in the dark. The moonlight shone through the small window, casting light shadows across the floor. Peter saw the sleeping form of Ned on the other side of the room, quiet snores reaching his ears. Unable to get back to sleep, he sat up and opened the window, silently creeping out as his suit formed over him. He made sure to stick to the shadows before launching off a different building, swinging through the urban jungle.

This was the first flashback he had in months. It was also one of the most vivid and most complete he had ever had. Peter pondered over that as he absentmindedly dodged a lone streetlight. Did it mean that something was coming? Had the Kree found him again? The first time, when they sent delegates to Asgard requesting an alliance, Peter had immediately become paranoid. They would find him wherever he went. 

If need be, he would forever be a nomad, if it meant that none of his loved ones would get hurt. He had headed to a lone spot to teleport, hoping to quietly disappear and reduce the ‘noise’, if you could really call it that. 

When the Araneae teleported, it caused a loud ‘noise’; it wasn’t a usual, physical noise per se. It was more of a loud echo that sounded in one’s head, but only if they were learned of the mystic arts. The strange thing was, it only echoed from the place he went _from_ , not where he went _to_. He was glad for this, as it meant that the Midgardian sorcerers did not hear him arrive. It did mean that his mother and Loki (and Heimdall) had immediately known he had disappeared, however. They still couldn’t figure out what he was, however, as the Kree had made sure to erase all evidence of his species’s existence.

(He was lucky Heimdall wasn't the sort of person to give up others' secrets so readily.)

This noise was the reason why he hasn't used this native skill in so long. 

Peter alighted on top of a building before getting back to work.

He hated reminiscing.

* * *

Peter was hesitant when he first started his internship with Stark. He wasn’t sure how the man would be with him when he himself had been… less than friendly in Berlin. Surprisingly, Stark brushed it all off when Peter tried to apologize, saying something along the lines of ‘We’re all assholes sometimes’ and immediately giving him something to do. Over the weeks, more trust built up around them until Peter was relatively comfortable in his presence.

Occasionally, the other Avengers would pop in to say hi to ‘Stark’s new intern’, not knowing that he was pivotal to preventing the team’s split. Peter was more than fine with that. Three people now knew his alter-ego and that was already very dangerous, especially considering two of those three came close to knowing _all_ of his history. He couldn’t take that risk. 

Peter did go to some lengths to protect himself, regularly hacking into both SI and SHIELD’s databases to see if Thor was coming back to Earth. To be honest, he was more worried if Loki came, as he would be much harder to fool than their sometimes-oblivious brother.

So far, nothing of concern had come up and Peter had been effective in remaining under the radar. Stark had, several times, offered to upgrade Peter’s suit, which was rather amusing for the spider. Each time, he refused adamantly. School was also going fine for Peter since he had already learned most of the theory from either the Asgardian libraries or Dr Banner/Mr Stark’s scientific papers. 

There was this one idiot in some of his classes though. ‘Flash’, was his nickname. (It was an utterly stupid and pretentious nickname. Possibly even worse than ‘Eugene’.) He seemed to think that making fun of Peter was great fun and made it his personal goal to humiliate the ‘weak’ boy as many times as he could in a day. It was merely a mild inconvenience though, as it merely consisted of immature comments and uncreative insults.

For Odin’s sake, he was the equivalent of at least one thousand Asgardian years. If he couldn’t take the taunts of a pathetic Midgardian child, what kind of warrior was he?

As for his foster home, he continued taking hits and healing soon after, grateful that no one else got hurt in the process. Occasionally, the Murbdiegs would go too far and he would end up with another scar added to his collection (which covered much of his body). Those times sucked and he actually felt acute pain at that. But it was of no consequence. He could handle it. The other children looked upon him as something like their own personal hero and Peter had decided that he quite liked that.

* * *

Four months after Peter started his internship, everything went downhill. It was a normal Friday afternoon at Stark Tower and Peter and Mr Stark were working on the latest model of the Iron Man suit. It was a work of genius, intricate in every way yet easy for the genius to understand (well, most of the time). The other Avengers occasionally popped in to chat. It was generally enjoyable and now, Peter was on speaking terms with them.

A bit too close, but not too much so that his secret was in _too_ much risk.

Yeah right. That was about to change in approximately ten seconds.

At precisely five o’clock in the afternoon, a huge clap of thunder sounded throughout the Tower, seemingly coming from the roof. The tool that Peter was holding clattered to the ground, veins visible beneath his now-pale skin. Mr Stark groaned and got up wearily.  
“That’s Point Break. Dunno what he’s doing here, never sent word, that doofus…”

Peter merely stared at the man, eyes uncomprehending as his mind raced through millions of scenarios.  
“C’mon kid, let’s go say hi.”  
“Ah…”  
Before he could protest, Stark was ushering him towards the elevator, which promptly took them up to the rooftop. As the doors slid open, angry voices were heard clashing against each other, Thor’s placating voice audible above it.  
“Wha-?” Stark ‘s frown morphed into a look of rage as they turned the corner. To his credit, he managed not to flat-out shout.

“Thor, please enlighten us. Why the _fuck_ is Loki here?”  
The voices started up once again, protesting as Thor tried explaining that Loki wasn’t ‘that bad’ and the Battle of New York ‘wasn’t his choice’. Peter heard none of it, slowly backing away, pure terror running through him. He was about to just simply _leave_ and maybe, quite possibly, just teleport away when Loki looked up and immediately caught Peter’s stricken eyes.

The trickster’s eyes widened and flashed with realisation. He tapped Thor’s arm, not breaking his gaze. All fell silent as the two brothers stared at one spot, abandoning the argument. All eyes followed their gazes, finally landing on one Peter Parker, face unnaturally pale. The brothers’ expressions were vastly different. Thor’s was filled with enormous incredulity, relief and joy, as well as disbelief. Loki’s was blank, unreadable, even to his brothers.

Peter gritted his teeth, his seiðr spinning out like a web, wrapping around him as he frantically tried to teleport while simultaneously shielding himself. He twisted, trying to step into oblivion, but was held fast. He opened his eyes to find green seiðr penetrating through his dark blue, holding him still. Thor didn’t even think of preventing Loki from doing whatever the fuck he was doing. The God of Mischief walked forward, cutting through the Avengers like a shark through water.

Of course. Peter should have remembered. At long distances, Peter could _just_ manage to hold his brother off, but when in close proximity like this, Loki was undeniably stronger. Peter gave up, his seiðr vanishing and his appearance returning to normal, shocking everyone who hadn’t seen his natural form. His grey eyes flickered, warily taking in the sight of his stoic brother.

They all watched as Loki’s seiðr spread out until there was a shield surrounding the rooftop, trapping everyone inside.

No one spoke. No one dared. The Avengers all saw that something they didn’t understand was going on. The Asgardians approached Peter, who was now standing defensively against the wall. Loki was the first to speak.

“Where in the _goddamn Nine Realms_ have you been, brother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Araneae’ is the scientific name for spiders.  
> I imagine teleporting like Apparating bc it looks cool ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	4. For the things you believe

_“Where in the goddamn Nine Realms have you been, brother?”_

There was an audible gasp at this proclamation, many Avengers even going as far to take a step back. _Midgardians_ , Peter thought. _So very fragile._ The two Asgardians were still staring at him, waiting for an answer. Peter sighed and relaxed against the wall, crossing his arms; there was no getting out of this anymore.

“Here.”  
“All this time?”  
Peter’s deadpan face spoke louder than any words he could have said.  
“How? I made sure to scan through all Midgardians when I was here.”  
Peter snorted; his appearance shimmered, before settling into the first, aged down disguise he had once worn when he first came here.

“You forget my seiðr is almost as strong as yours is, brother. You were quite a distance away as well. You wouldn’t have been able to detect me.”

The disguise slid off and Peter was left glaring back at his brothers. Neither dared to take another step; they saw that if they did, Peter would most likely explode. Finally, it was Natasha who broke the silence.

“I think we speak for all of us when we say we want an explanation.”

Peter shrugged his shoulders, seemingly indifferent and went downstairs. He didn’t miss the curious glance Wanda threw him; he promptly erected a shield around his mind. His face was carefully blank as he leapt onto the common room ceiling, settling down cross-legged; both parties held a different piece to his past. If he was to settle all confusion once and for all, he would have to tell both groups everything.

Everything was unravelling, inexorably, steadily, and Peter could do nothing except let it happen.

Loki and Thor were the first to file in. When they saw Peter sitting on the ceiling, their faces morphed into ones of confusion. Tony’s face was perfectly relaxed when he saw Peter, save for a twitching muscle in his jaw. Peter, curious, peeked into the billionaire’s mind. Inside was pure turmoil, worry tangling with anxiety and confusion, overlaid with an emotion Peter couldn't quite put his finger on.

Meanwhile, Barnes’ face was one of mild interest.  
“Oh cool, didn’t see you do that outside of the suit.”  
“Ah, so it was the seiðr that gave me away.”  
“It was kinda obvious even before that.”  
“Damn.”

It was awkward, to say the least, when all of the Avengers finally got comfortable, many with utterly confused faces. If not in the situation he was in now, Peter would have definitely taken a photo. Or committed the image to memory.

“Kid, please give us an explanation.”

“Right. So. I’m actually from Asgard and Thor and Loki are my brothers. Enough?”  
“Brother, answer properly or we go to Father immediately.”  
“Ok, ok, geez. So, where do I start? Oh right, my home planet. I’m not actually Asgardian, contrary to popular belief. My people were the Araneae. Basically, we were spider people and that’s how I got my abilities. We lived on a small, isolated planet far away on the other side of the galaxy. We were absolutely fine and our existence was peaceful, but of course, the Kree just had to come.”

“The Kree?” Thor was confused. “I thought they were a noble race. They came to Asgard seeking an alliance.”

“They’re not, brother. They’re anything but. They’re allied with one of the most powerful, most terrible forces in our universe. The Great Titan Thanos is the last of his race and he’s hel-bent on destroying half of all life in the universe. He sent the Kree to my planet, to carry out his horrific plan. It was a bad idea. The Kree have always hated us, long before Thanos sent them. We fought back, we tried to hold them off, but in the end, I guess the Kree captains got impatient. Instead of killing half of us, they killed all of us. You should’ve heard them laugh as they slaughtered everyone.”

“I don’t exactly know why they spared me, but I suspect it’s because, from what I heard, Thanos likes taking one child from each planet he... infects. He trains them to become warriors, torturing them and enhancing them until they became his puppets. The Kree would’ve been perfectly happy to see the last remaining member of the species they hated tortured. So, no, brother, the Kree are not noble.”

Steve looked faintly ill. Tony was pale.  
“How the hell did you escape?”  
Peter shrugged.  
“I teleported. I guess the captains didn’t expect a ‘little, helpless’ child like me to be able to get away. Or have the _guts_ to get away.”

There was silence then, all the people in the room trying to comprehend all the information that Peter had just dumped on them. Bucky looked around, sensing the tension.

“You can teleport?” Bucky asked then, the same mildly interested look back on his face.  
“Yeah, it’s kinda fun.”  
The mood lightened slightly.  
“Why don’t you do it more often, then?”  
“Because it gives off a noise, a very distinct noise might I add, that is very Araneaen. I think only sorcerers can hear it though.”  
“Cool.”

“So long story short, I ended up on Asgard, Odin found me and adopted me and Thor and Loki became my adopted brothers. I learnt most of what I know there. It was great for a while, no one found out what I was. But after many years, the Kree came to Asgard, seeking an alliance. I’m not completely sure, but I’m willing to bet that they heard about Odin’s ‘new son’ and knew it was me. If they found me there, they would immediately take me back to Thanos. They would shit on any alliance they had made, all for Thanos, so I did the practical thing and got out of there. I ended up here and I’ve been hiding here ever since.” 

There was absolute silence after Peter’s explanation. There were more intricacies to his tale, but as of now, they meant hardly anything.

“You absolute fool. You should have told us.” Loki’s face seemed impassive to most people, but Peter immediately saw how relieved he was. Peter rolled his eyes.  
“Any more questions?”  
“Yeah, I have one,” Sam said. “So you have absolutely no idea why these... Kree things hate you so much?  
“Absolutely none at all.”

“I might be able to find out,” a new voice interjected from the doorway. Everyone whipped around to see a tall figure dressed totally in black, with an eyepatch, looking around at them.  
“Fury, what the hell are you doing in my Tower?” Stark asked, clearly irritated.  
“I _was_ going to call an Avengers meeting but none of you bastards were answering.”  
“So you decided breaking in was suddenly legal.”  
“Technically, I don’t exist anymore. Nothing I do is legal.”

Clint sat back, spinning an arrow around his fingers.  
“Director, please just tell us what you want to say.”  
“Sure, Barton. I happen to be in contact with a former Kree captain. She was originally from Earth, but she was kidnapped and brainwashed. She became half-Kree because of blood transplants or some other messed up shit like that, then eventually defected. Now she wanders around the galaxy doing who knows what.”

“Oh, so that’s where you got the cat from,” Natasha said suddenly, a look of comprehension crossing over her face.  
“What cat?” Bucky asked, eyes gleaming with amusement.  
“That’s a story for another time.” She smirked at Fury, who simply gave her a dead look in return.  
“That’s beside the point. I think she’d be willing to deter the Kree from coming after you. She’s got a reputation among them, and she’s most certainly not fond of those motherfuckers.”  
“Language, director,” Clint said, glancing at Steve, who raised his hands in exasperation.  
“That was one time, people, _one time_.”

Peter stared at Fury in apprehension.  
“What’s the defector’s name?’  
“She goes by Carol Danvers now, but she used to be called Vers.”  
Peter fell off the ceiling, managing to regain his balance at the last second.  
“Vers?! Do you know how many Araneae she has killed?!”  
“I take it that you’ve heard of her.”  
“Oh, I’ve heard of her,” Peter hissed. “When the Kree used to mount small raids on our villages before the slaughter, all who we managed to capture spoke of this Vers when questioned. She gained quite a reputation among us.”  
“She’s changed.”  
“And you know how? How do you know that she won’t remember her training and kill me?”

Loki walked over to the infuriated spider and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“How about you hear the Midgardian’s contact out first?”  
Peter tried to protest.  
“If she tries anything, I’ll kill her.”  
Peter blinked twice. He grinned, his expression a tad sadistic.  
“Sure, brother. I won’t mind.”

Fury, however, was doubtful.  
“Do you think you’re able to kill her?”  
Loki was suitably offended.  
“Please. Is that even a question?”  
Thor snorted.

* * *

The next few days were stressful for Peter. Thor and Loki insisted on giving him an Asgardian wristband that would essentially act like a tracker, so that he would not run away again. Peter had returned to the group home, still taking hits and covering his scarring when he went over to the Tower in the afternoon. 

He was forced to take a break from Spider-Man, which soured his mood further. Everyone, his teachers, his friends and the Avengers knew that he was constantly distracted. Even Flash wouldn’t go near the fierce glare that emanated from the gloomy figure.

They were all waiting for Danvers to come down to Earth. Fury had already contacted her, using an old fashioned pager. Finally, a few days after Thor and Loki arrived on Earth, a bright comet-like object was seen hurtling from space down to the ground. All the Avengers were gathered at an empty estate upstate, where they wouldn’t be bothered.

They stood as the glowing comet slowed down and alighted, revealing a woman dressed in a red, blue and gold suit. She surveyed all of them with a blank face, possibly one of the blankest that Peter had ever seen. It was unnerving, to say the least. When her eyes finally landed on Fury, however, she gave a small smile.

“Fury. Nice to see you again.”  
“Danvers. These are the Avengers, Earth’s personal protectors.”  
“It’s nice to meet you all.”  
There was a general murmuring of greetings; no one knew how to handle this strangely stoic woman.  
“What did you call me here for?”  
Fury sighed,  
“It’s complicated. Peter, please introduce yourself.”

Peter stepped forward, his usual disguise sliding off until his features were clearly Araneaen again.  
“That's me, probably the last Araneaen alive.”  
Danvers’s eyes widened in recognition.  
“You killed many of my people.”  
“I was brainwashed and following orders.”  
“But you remember it.”  
Peter was practically bristling with hostility. In a flash, Loki was by his side, faint seiðr spilling out from his fingers, calming his brother down.

“Fury, please explain.” Danvers looked warily at the brothers.  
“He believes that your old Kree buddies will take him to Thanos if they find him. Is that true?”  
“Oh. That is very true. I have memories of Thanos visiting the Kree planet. He was always flanked by young soldiers of different species and races, all different and all clearly modified and trained to be killers. I have absolutely no doubt that Thanos has told the Kree to take the last Araneaen to him.”

“Well that’s comforting,” Natasha muttered, flexing her fingers; no doubt she had experience in these ‘trained killer’ programs.  
Fury ignored her.  
“Is there any way to deter them from coming after Peter? And this planet?”  
“I thought I deterred them from coming here a long time ago.”  
“How about protection from them anywhere in the universe?”  
“That… I’m not sure. I could always kidnap Yon-Rogg and force him to send a message again.”  
“Would that work?”  
“There’s a small chance.”  
“Do you have the time?”  
“I think I can make enough time to torment the Kree.”  
“Great. Try to do it as soon as possible.”  
“Will do, Fury.” 

Danvers looked around at everyone.  
“It was nice meeting you all, I need to get going.” She gave Fury one last look.  
“It was good seeing you again.”  
Fury nodded in acknowledgement. She took off immediately, becoming no more than a glowing speck in the sky once more.  
Stark let out a huge breath, rubbing his hand over his face.  
“That woman. She’s weird.”  
Most of the Avengers nodded, looking relieved now that the stranger was gone. Fury looked slightly sad.

Another uncomfortable silence fell over the group. 

“So,” Bucky said, looking at Natasha.  
“What’s this about a cat?”

* * *

It was a relief when Peter’s brothers gave him the all-clear for his vigilante activities. He had related everything that had happened to Ned and MJ, who resumed their usual routine straight away. When they had learned about his spider-activities, they had insisted on taking care of his wounds after patrol. They were adamant on this point, and nothing could stop them from staying up late with a makeshift medbay in his room. He was glad that he had such reliable friends.

The city seemed to sigh a collective sigh of relief when its protector reappeared after his short hiatus. Only JJJ had anything bad to say. 

Thor and Loki insisted that they all catch up with each other. Something about making up for all the lost years. One thing led to another, and eventually Spider-Man found himself leading the two Asgardians around New York. It was fun, relaxing even, for Peter, finally being able to be with his brothers once again, without the threat of the Kree hanging over his head. Thor was unbelievably enthusiastic about the whole affair, eagerly asking numerous questions regarding Midgardian culture. Peter answered all of them, amused when Thor’s face lit up with new understanding each time.

Loki was more reserved, saying little with a stoic face. However, even he was charmed by this ‘quaint mortal realm’ and even so far as to smile a little when he saw children playing, or puppies running (puppies were awesome, no one could hate them, not even Loki). It was an unusual expression for the God of Mischief.

“Say, brother, what is this strange contraption, and why are there so many?”  
“That is a car. Midgardians use them to go places quickly.”  
“How inefficient. Why have they not developed more advanced technologies?”  
“Most Midgardians aren’t as smart as your Asgardian innovators.”  
“Ah, that makes sense. Midgardians seem to be rather… dim.”  
Loki snorted.  
“Some of these people are very nearly at an Asgardian level. Perhaps one should look further before making judgement.”  
Peter nodded.  
“The Wakandans are impressive. Their technology is well on their way to becoming as advanced as the ones on Asgard.”

And so they continued, lightly debating and comparing the different societies. Some New Yorkers would sometimes stop and stare for a bit, not quite sure that they were seeing things right; a villain, a God and New York’s own personal superhero? Really? Peter could see where they were coming from- this was even weirder than the crackpots who frequently hung around the subway.

Alas, all good, relaxing things must come to an end, at least in Peter’s world. As soon as they arrived at Central Park, a call came in.

“Please answer it, Karen.”  
“Hey kid, you might want to get back to the Tower ASAP.”  
“Why, Mr Stark?”  
“Danvers has just arrived. She says she has a warning for us. Come quickly.”  
The call ended abruptly.  
“Brother, can you take us back to the Tower, like right now? Something’s come up.”  
“As you wish.”

Loki opened a portal and they all stepped through. They found the rest of the Avengers arriving on the rooftop, where a slightly frazzled Carol Danvers stood waiting.  
“We don’t have much time,” she said. “The Kree are angry and are coming to attack. Those bastards didn’t learn from last time.”  
“Why the hell did you provoke them?” asked Rhodey, eyebrow raised.  
“My plan backfired. They think I murdered Yon-Rogg, when I was just planning on sending a message via him.”  
“Real smart.”  
“Not the point. They’re coming here, and we’re as good as done if they decide to bring in their entire military.”  
“Why destroy our tiny, insignificant planet though?” Steve was understandably confused.  
“Because this tiny, insignificant planet seems to have a lot of enhanced individuals who have the potential to be great threats. It doesn’t help that this tiny, insignificant planet is also _my_ home planet.”  
“So, we have to fight?” Bruce asked, resigned.  
“Yup.”

Tony raised his eyes heavenward.  
“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments and feedback on the fic :)))) 
> 
> (NOTE- 12/08/20: I'm not dead and I haven't abandoned the fic. Sorry to everyone who's still waiting for the next chapter... I'm just trying to figure out how to write it lol. Love y'all <333)


	5. So when paradise calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... it's been a while... but here's the next chapter!  
> Reminder that Asgardians (& Loki & Peter) can’t breathe in space, hence them wearing suits. Imma refer to the three of them as Asgardians for convenience sake.  
> The suits they wear look like the ones in Endgame.

Their situation was absolute shit, when one thought about it. They were currently flying towards almost certain disaster and imminent deaths. The risks were innumerable and most certainly not in their favour. 

Peter fiddled with the band around his wrist, which, when pressed, would encase him in a nanotech suit that Stark had been hiding away until a suitable situation presented itself.  
“A completely revolutionary space suit,” he said proudly, while handing out the bands to every able person on board the SHIELD helicarrier.

Once he had been contacted, Fury had called together all available SHIELD agents who were immediately debriefed and sent to help the Avengers on their mission. Fury himself was present, silently supervising the movements of those on board. While the agents were constantly moving, checking equipment and making semi-frantic calls, the Avengers were all grouped together at the largest window on the aircraft, sitting and waiting.

They stared out at the great blue expanse that stretched for eons across vast nothingness. 

It was beautiful up here, the white clouds underneath, hiding the ground below. The blue expanse of the sky spread out endlessly on all sides, a peaceful sanctuary far from the chaotic events of civilised life. They appreciated the view while they could; literally being on top of the world was quite the experience.

"The Kree are getting closer," Bruce warned from his place in front of the computers.

One of T'Challa's aircraft had also arrived, hovering next to the helicarrier. A bridge connected the openings of the aircrafts, enabling communication. Stark and Banner immediately teamed up with Princess Shuri, who provided invaluable information on the required topic. The Wakandans' advanced technology made planning and designing so much easier, and soon, a defensive shield which would stretch across the entire globe would be ready.

The shield would be constructed at the furthermost point of the exosphere, acting as a physical barrier between the Earth’s atmosphere and space.

If they died and the mission failed, at least the rest of the world would be protected.

Danvers anxiously checked the time, getting ready to blast off at a moment's notice.  
Bruce stared worriedly at his screen, urgently tracking the foreign signals from outer space.

Before long, the giant shield started expanding, fretfully supervised by the three geniuses. It grew rapidly, eating up kilometers in mere seconds. Peter and Loki also joined in, combining their wills to provide a further reinforcement, another layer to help defend the planet.

Bruce leaned forward, staring at the dots bleeping across the screen.

The shield met on all sides, stopping at the last second to provide a small opening through which the Avengers would file through to engage the enemy. They all waited tensely, ready to spring forward at any second. The white, red and black suits covered everyone except for Danvers. Everyone was already filled in on how to use them, and after a few practices, they were ready.

Loud, urgent beeps echoed throughout the airships.

_3..._

_2..._

_1..._

"They're here," Bruce said from the controls, staring out into the sky, watching the small glowing dots growing ever larger as they approached.

Captain Marvel burst forward first, her plasma energy blasting her forward to her sworn enemy. The rest followed suit quickly, masks covering their faces and providing them with oxygen. Peter waited last, watching all of the Avengers and SHIELD agents, with Danvers and Loki, flying out. It was pretty surreal when he thought about it, this whole concept and the people involved. He breathed in and out, glancing at his suit in the metal's shining reflection once more before following them out.

There, emblazoned on the left breast of the suit, was the Avengers logo.

* * *

The first wave of attackers was somewhat tentative, as if it were testing out the resilience and the determination of the opposition. They were rather easy to hold back, easier than expected. The defensive system worked rather well; the Avengers, Loki, Danvers and Peter went above the shield to prevent as many Kree as they could from entering, while the SHIELD agents and a small group of Wakandan soldiers waited below, carefully picking off the Kree who managed to get through. 

Their system worked for the first few waves without too much difficulty, all working effectively as a team. Their outlook became more optimistic, as they cheerfully bantered with each other in the midst of the fights.

In hindsight, this regularity and false sense of security should've been obvious that something much bigger was coming.

Before long, Peter spotted something that made him balk. He flew up to Stark.

"Mr Stark, there are warships coming."

"What? How many?"

"Too many to count. They're almost as big as the Chitauri creatures from New York."

"Shit. How come I can’t see them?"

"I have better eyesight than you. I’m an alien, remember? 

“Right. I don’t have any ideas at the mome-" Stark broke off, blasting two more Kree with his repulsors.

"Go ask Capsicle." The billionaire tried getting a few more words out, but ultimately had to abandon the conversation. The number of Kree coming towards the shield was increasing.

"Captain Steve Rogers, sir, can you hear me?" Peter spoke into his comm, instructing the suit's AI to contact the Captain only. 

"Yes. Who's this?"

"It's Peter, sir."

"Ok Peter, what's happening?"

"There are Kree warships coming, huge ones, as big as the giant Chitauri creatures from New York.”

"How many do you think there are?"

"Maybe a few dozen or so."

"What's so damn special about this planet?!" Steve growled in frustration, the sounds of gunshots echoing through the comm.

"I don't know, but sir, we need a plan."

The Captain was silent for a moment, thinking over the possibilities. The comms line crackled slightly, at odds with the hellfire raining around the fighters.

"We need to take out the ships, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Can you ask Danvers if she can disable them?"

"Sure."

Peter opened another link with the other Captain.

"Danvers, are you able to disable the ships?"

"I could, given enough time."

"How?"

"I know how the ships work. If I can get through to the mothership, I could probably disable all ships simultaneously."

"Great, can you do that, like, right now?"

"Sure."

As Danvers prepared to shoot off, Loki appeared suddenly by her side, his suit's colour scheme already changed to black, silver and green. Strangely enough, the Avengers symbol was not erased from the design, still glowing silver against the black backdrop.

"Here."

He waved his hand, almost negligently, and a portal appeared in front of her.

"It leads into the control ship."

"Thank you, Loki."

A moment later, she was gone. Peter stared out at the hulking shape in the distance. A tiny glow could be seen from one of the many 'windows'.

"You've gone soft.”

"So have you."

"Is it really such a bad thing?"

Silence.

"I guess not."

Peter grinned with triumph as he whirled around to face yet another Kree.

"Captain Rogers, sir, Danvers is now inside the mothership and will attempt to disable all ships as soon as possible."

"Thank God," was the only reply.

* * *

It didn't take much too long after that. Danvers was able to disable all of the ships, rendering them useless. Peter could hear the sighs of relief through the comms as the last of the intruding Kree were taken out. Peter floated above the shield, satisfied at last, watching the ships burn.

Something was very clearly wrong however, as Danvers came speeding back from the mothership. Her expression was borderline panicked, her eyes glowing furiously.  
"I couldn't shut down the mothership. The other ships are going to blow soon, but the coding for the mothership was too hard to break through in the time I had. If I try again, I’ll need back up to hold the Kree off until I can get through."

"Shit. What can we do?"

"The only thing we could possibly do is to go back and attempt to blow the ship up. There’s no other option. The mothership is almost impossible to stop."

"How hard is it to break through the coding?"

"Very, very hard, Peter. The best of the Kree created it. It won't be easy."

"We have to try."  
Peter's face was pale, but determined. He raised his hand up to his ear.

"All of you, down below. Tell T'Challa to add another layer to the shield."

"Why, Peter?" Tony's voice demanded.

"Loki, Thor and I are needed elsewhere. We won't be able to hold the shield when we're gone."

"Are you going to tell us what's happening?"

"No, there's no time."

"Fine. Go save the world; we'll tell T'Challa."

"Thank you, Tony."  
Peter shut off the comms, racing over to his brothers.

"We need to get to the main ship. Danvers says the only way to end all this is to blow it up."

"As expected," Loki nodded.

"Stark and T'Challa will take care of the shield, as a precaution, so we can use our seiðr. We need to go now. The ship's getting closer."

They nodded, following Peter as he led the way to a flaming Danvers.

"Good, now let's go."

She led the way through the vacuum which was space, the black surroundings somehow appearing unbearably oppressive yet frighteningly empty all at once. An impending sense of inevitability enveloped the four figures as they approached the gargantuan ship, which was steadily approaching the gradually shrinking figure of Earth. Peter looked behind; Thor's gaze was grim, Mjolnir clutched in his hand.

Loki flew a few feet off to his left, a maniacal smirk playing on his lips.

"Loki, please drop the expression."

"Will it not deter the enemy? I merely see it as a tool."

"Well, wait until we actually get there before employing the tool."

The semi-light hearted banter only eased Peter's nerves slightly. The ship was getting closer, and they were all past the point of no return now.

"We're here," Danvers' voice sounded through the comms.  
"The entrance is this way." Her face was set as she approached a barely visible hatch in the side of the ship. Tugging a few times, she slowly eased the hatch open enough for them to fit through. Once they were in, Loki silently closed the hatch, the sound faintly echoing in the empty space.

Danvers signalled for them to follow her, carefully staying close to the wall. Her binary power was extinguished, her figure no longer glowing so resplendently. They managed to travel quite a ways before the first alarm was triggered. A cool female voice echoed throughout the corridors.

"Attention all, this is an intruder alert. Squadron 42, please head to the third corridor in the north wing. All intruders are to be taken into custody. This is the order of the Supreme Intelligence."

Danvers made a face when the last two words were spoken. She beckoned for them to follow her into another empty chamber off to the side, speaking as she did so.  
"The Supreme Intelligence governs the whole Kree civilization. No one dares to contradict it, and the punishments are usually harsh enough to deter the citizens from even thinking about disobeying its orders."

"How big is Squadron 42?"

"The size is irrelevant. All Kree are trained militants."

"So what the hell are we supposed to do?"

Loki spoke up then, fixing Peter with a piercing look.

"Have you been practising your cloaking spells, Peter?"

"I used them a few times on Midgard."

"That's it then. We will take Lady Danvers to the place where she must be, then we leave. I do believe that the four of us are more than enough to take down some mortal aliens."

Peter nodded and looked at the Captain.  
"Where is the control room?"

"It's in the centre of the ship. Follow me."  
Loki and Peter simultaneously wove their seiðr together to create a sort of shielding cloak, like the one Peter manufactured back in Berlin. Peter gave the cloak an additional repelling feature, which would hopefully subtly direct the Kree away from the space they occupied.

When they successfully arrived at the control room, Peter and Loki moved in sync, immediately making quick movements towards the Kree guards that were there. Knives and daggers suddenly became embedded in their heads, necks and chests. The three Asgardians stood guard at the door while Danvers rushed to the largest computer network, already typing in various codes and switching things around.

The loading bar was about 80% filled when a commotion sounded from outside. Danvers continued typing, an anxious look on her face as she looked at the door.

"There are at least forty Kree coming this way. You think you can handle them?"

"Sure," Peter said, rolling his shoulders. "We're going to be _fiiine_."

"Yeah, well, don't get killed, at least. At the most, please only get maimed, or seriously injured."

"That is the plan! We shall defeat these foes at once!" Thor said cheerfully, wielding Mjolnir as the footsteps rounded the corner, the attackers coming into view.

"You're an idiot, brother," Loki said drily, seiðr gathering around his hands as he stalked out into the corridor to meet the onslaught.

"You're both idiots," Peter snorted, swinging out and over the Kree, webbing them up as he went.

"I am not." Loki growled, never faltering as he cut a path through the crowd.

"But you're the real oaf, Loki." Peter smirked, kicking a soldier into the opposite wall.

"Peter, Loki, please remain focused on the task." Thor grunted, Mjolnir swinging through the Kree ranks.

"But Thorrrrrrr..." Peter whined.

"No."

"But-"

"No, Peter."

Peter huffed and didn't argue. This fight felt strangely liberating, as he wielded his seiðr with almost the same vigour as his webs. This unusual combination was effective, and Peter relished in this new freedom. No longer did he have to suppress his urges or his instincts. Now he could be who he was, fight to the best of his ability.

It was fun.

Tiring, gruelling, but undeniably fun. Loki appeared to feel the same way, his slightly psychopathic laughter echoing through the emptying space. After glancing around once to make sure that the force was manageable, Peter slipped away, back to the control room. The loading bar was now at 98%, a distinctly less ruffled Danvers supervising the coding.

"How much longer until we can leave?"

"Two minutes at the most; I need to make sure that the coding is permanent and irreversible. Once I say go, we need to get out of here before the ship blows."

"How long do we have after the loading is complete?"

"Five minutes. I set it so that it’ll explode at the same time as the other ships."

"That should be enough time to get close enough to Earth."

"Yep. Go help your brothers, Peter. The more Kree you kill, the better."

Peter saluted her, shooting a web and swinging away.  
The onslaught was even weaker now, the Kree half heartedly throwing themselves at the warriors. Peter spoke to Loki through his mind, informing him of Danvers' decision. He nodded, and Peter went to tell Thor.

_99%._

The Kree squadron was almost completely vanquished, Danvers with a vaguely relaxed expression on her face now. Seiðr, lightning, daggers and webs flew around outside, most of them hitting their targets.

_100%._

Danvers shot out of the control room, her binary power making an appearance once again.  
"We need to go, now!" she shouted at them over the noise, pointing her glowing hands at a point in the wall. The three immediately sped after her, following her directions. Combinations of pure, raw energy, seiðr and lightning blasted the walls of the ship, creating a quicker passage out of the hellhole.

Soon, they reached the outer wall, where all four of them used all their strength to blast through to the outside.

They were two and a half minutes into the timer.

They finally got through, racing top speed back to Earth, its bright colours beckoning them back. The blackness was no longer so intimidating, every other emotion gone in the adrenaline of the escape. They were a few hundred yards away from the shield when the timer went out, signalling for all the Kree warships to explode.

Peter glanced back to see all a beautiful display of pure violence and power, red and orange and yellow and white enveloping the ships. He grinned, diving down to shoot through the opening in the shield. As the four entered the Earth's atmosphere, their comms crackled to life once more, sighs of relief audible.

Carol's gleeful voice came over the comms.  
"They're definitely not coming back here anymore!" she crowed, exhilarated at her enemy's defeat. She did flips in the sky, spiralling down to meet the Avengers and the exhausted agents. Hugs were exchanged, acquaintanceships turning into friendships as they did so. After the initial celebrations, they all finally returned to the helicarrier, drained, yet still high on adrenaline.

Peter looked around at everyone while they cleaned up, chatting animatedly and tending to various wounds. He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Thor and Loki were standing there, a proud smile breaking out across Thor's face. Even Loki's face held an expression of approval.

As the helicarrier dipped and descended back towards the blessedly firm ground, the setting sun streamed through the windows of the aircraft, bathing everyone in sunlight. Peter looked around at all of them, the bright reddish-tint of the sky framing their figures.

He smiled and turned away to clean up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, but my mental health was kinda really bad for a while and I was struggling with how I should write the battle scenes and trying to figure out how everything would work. This is what I came up with.  
> I apologise if it doesn't make a lot of sense or if there are multiple loopholes... I'm not the best writer.  
> I hope you still enjoyed it tho :)  
> The next chapter shouldn't take as long to get out.
> 
> TL;DR- Sorry for the long wait and dodgy plotline... next chapter shouldn't take as long.
> 
> Please remember to drop a kudos and a comment, they are greatly appreciated! <333


	6. I'd rather be here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue + short scenarios which are too short to make into individual chapters… a lotta fun, some explanations to clear up some stuff and generally chill stuff in this chapter :)

A few days after the Kree were driven away, Peter was once again sitting in his room at the orphanage, covered with new cuts that were healing rapidly. Ned and MJ looked on worriedly, their own wounds fading.

“That’s it, I’m going to Mr Stark,” Peter said, staring at his hands.

“I thought you said-” 

“Ned, he’s right. This can’t keep going on.”

“But Peter, you said you weren’t sure whether they’d do anything.”

“I can’t keep sitting here, knowing that they could easily do that again without any retribution.”

Peter shook his head and pulled on his suit, swinging out of the window without another word. The cuts stung a little in the cold night air as he made his way to the Tower. He landed on the roof and waited, knowing that FRIDAY would have alerted the Avengers inside already. The door to the roof opened and Tony, expression questioning.

“Kid, you have school tomorrow. Shouldn’t you be sleeping? I’m literally the only one still awake now.”

“It’s only one, Mr Stark, it’s still early. Also you’re still up.”

“I’m not a good role model and you know it.”

“Yeah , yeah. Look, can we talk about this later? Right now, I kinda need you to call the police.”

“...”

“Wait what?”

\-----

A day later, the Murbdiegs were out and the orphanage was taken over by a nice, older couple who were a thousand light years better and kinder. Of course, Mr Stark berated Peter for not telling him sooner and made him promise to tell him if anything like that happened again, but ultimately he was relieved that the teen who was most likely to suffer in silence had told him in the first place.

It was no surprise when Stark offered for Peter to move into the Tower. He declined, though, to the shock of everyone. He wanted to stay with his friends.

* * *

It was an Avengers game night, and everyone was there. Danvers, Thor and Loki had all flown in from space, completing the Avengers family. It was late, perhaps nearly midnight (they were all too drunk to take notice… Peter was simply too tired) and they were back to an old challenge, one that had been given a few years back just before the Ultron fiasco.

“All you mortals haven’t gotten much worthier, have you?” Thor chortled, gulping down more beer.

“Don’t tease, brother,” Loki said, possibly the least drunk out of all of the adults. His worthiness had… somewhat increased. He was able to lift Mjolnir the slightest bit now. 

“Says you.”

“Guys, guys, how about Peter? He’s, like, the only one who hasn’t tried yet,” Clint said from his place, sprawled out along one of the many lounges that furnished the common room.

“Yeah, kid. Why don’t you give it a try?” Tony was curious to see the result.

“But Mr Stark…” the young vigilante blushed slightly and shook his head, his eyes downcast. He knew exactly how it would turn out. When he had still lived on Asgard, he had tried a few times. None of the times was he able to lift the hammer.

“Come on, you’re not going to embarrass yourself! We’ve all tried as well,” Sam encouraged.

“And failed,” Natasha snorted. She still hadn’t attempted, not giving in to the complaints of her teammates.

“This is peer pressure,” Peter muttered, standing up.

They all cheered as he rolled his eyes and reached out his hand to grasp the hammer.

Peter braced himself, securing his centre of gravity and getting ready to try and lift up the enormous weight which Mjolnir must be. He gripped the handle and pulled it upwards.

The hammer flew towards his head and everything went dark.

“...”

“I win, brother. I told you so, didn’t I?”

“Loki, shut up.”

* * *

JJJ’s face loomed over the walking citizens of NYC, preaching about the untrustworthiness and the sinister dealings of the Avengers, the world’s supposedly most deceitful organisation.

The New Yorkers ignored him.

The government had already cleared everything up a day before, their explanation of the unusual occurrences seen in the sky brief and surely given by Fury.

JJJ was, by now, the definition of irrelevant.

* * *

Peter walked through the hallways of Midtown School of Science and Technology, chatting happily with Ned and MJ. Flash approached them, an ugly sneer on his face, insult no doubt ready on the tip of his tongue.

The three ignored him and dodged the rest of his ‘gang’, passing through the barrier that they had attempted to create.

Peter and Ned continued to excitedly discuss new Lego sets, MJ watching on fondly (not that she’d ever admit it) while Flash stared at them, opened mouthed and shocked.

* * *

Peter swung around the buildings of Manhattan on a Tuesday night, blissfully unaware of the time.

He had been out for a few hours by now, occasionally stopping petty crime and just enjoying himself.

At last, after nearly slamming into a billboard for the seventh time, Peter alighted on the top of a skyscraper, happily looking out at the night view.

Cars’ lights blinked below, the roar of the traffic muted by Peter’s height. The cool night air surrounded him and cooled him down after the exertions of the night.

The whir of repulsors replaced the quiet hum of the night life, signalling the arrival of none other than the Iron Man. Peter turned around, the mask retracting.

“Hey Mr Stark, what’s up?”

“Kid, why are you out at two in the morning on a school night?”

Peter blinked. It was a perfectly reasonable time to be out. 

“‘Cause I can…?” he hesitantly replied.

“You should be sleeping.”

Peter stood up and moved to the edge of the roof. The mask covered his face again as he grinned, supremely sleep deprived.

“Sleep is for the weak, Mr Stark.”

He gave a two fingered salute and backflipped off the edge.

* * *

_(r.i.p. chadwick boseman)_

Peter hung around the lab with Shuri, the two of them referencing memes while they worked. As of now, they were tinkering with the Black Panther suit, looking for ways to improve it and things to add.

T’Challa walked in after a while, expression a mixture of amused and exasperated as he looked at his sister and her friend, two teenagers, playing around with the almighty Black Panther suit.

The corners of his lips turned up in a small smile as he turned and walked away, out of the lab, intending to find something to eat.

The teens hadn’t noticed him enter or leave.

* * *

It was a normal day in the life of Peter Parker. School was great, he had aced that one difficult History test he had been dreading and Flash had been put in place by the headteacher (at last).

He swung towards the Tower, mood light and vibing to music that was playing in the mask. He landed on the roof and ripped off his mask as he leapt down the flight of stairs and burst into Stark’s lab.

The billionaire turned around and grinned and him, already sweaty and oily from being in the workshop for the entirety of the day. 

“Hey Mr Stark!”

“Hey kid, wanna work on the newest Iron Man suit today?”

“Actually? That’s so cool, I’d love to!”

Peter got changed and re-entered the workshop. Stark and him didn’t emerge from the depths of invention for another two hours, until Pepper dragged them both outside, saying something about needing to eat and hydrate.

They didn’t argue.

The rest of the other Avengers (sans the Asgardians and Danvers) were lounging around the common room, idly chatting and snacking, some fiddling with their weapons as they did so. The atmosphere was very relaxed and casual for once, everyone in one space, safe. Peter and Stark seamlessly integrated in the group, swigging water and generally being calm.

A loud alert broke the atmosphere.

Everyone ran up to the roof, where FRIDAY said there had been a disturbance. Peter was the first to get out, despite protests and attempts to hold him back. They all burst out onto the roof, weapons now at the ready no longer absentmindedly handled. All eyes were hard and alert, containing no traces of the previous idleness.

The view that greeted them was one that made many of them drop their weapons in shock, despite all of them being seasoned warriors.

Thor, beaten up and bloody, was on the roof, holding an unconscious Loki in his lap. The trickster’s skin was an unhealthy shade of grey and his neck was badly bruised, black and blue and purple. Thor’s gaze didn’t waver from his brother, his expression grief-stricken and wretched. His words spilled out of him hopelessly.

“He’s coming. Thanos… he’s coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE DONE MY DUDES, WE'RE DONE!!!
> 
> Thanks for reading this fic, it means so so so so so so much.
> 
> Love y'all and have a great day<333


End file.
